From Chapter 28:
After Lois left Star Labs, she hit the sidewalk with the intent of hailing a cab to get back to their apartment. Unexpectedly, a stranger tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ms. Lane?" asked the man, who looked to be around the same age as her and Clark. He spoke with a British accent but was dressed in modern clothing.
"Yes? And you are?"
"My name is Henry Geoffrey Wells."
"As in *H.G. Wells?*" <How many are there, for God's sake?>
"I'm a descendant of the one in my world, yes."
"*Your* world? *Which* world is that?"
"I'm from the same world as the folks you call Joe and Mary Lang. I knew their son and his wife, your twin, intimately."
Lois took a deep breath. How much could one person handle? Since she left Brazzaville, she'd been in a constant state of turmoil. "And what does that have to do with me?"
"I need you to come back to my world to fix some time anomalies that occurred when you and your twin from the other world traveled to San Diego to visit one of the Lex Luthors of your world, the man they call Leonard Thorul."
"Huh? How could a trip to a different universe than yours affect the world Ma and Pa came from? I thought that was pretty much destroyed by the evil Kryptonians, anyway."
"It appears that when my descendant in the other world plucked the Kents from my world, it created a symbiotic relationship between all three worlds."
"How can I help fix all of that?"
"Well it seems that the unhealthy fixation that the Leonard Thorul of your world had on you after you visited him as a teenager created a chaos that threatens to destroy all three worlds. Only you can help fix this."
Memories of the picture that Ma had shown her of the Lex Luthor of her world came flooding back. He was an exact duplicate of this world's Leonard Thorul.
"But I thought that the Clark and Lois of your world died –"
"The Lex Luthor of my world had a side company he owned called Cadmus Labs. He created clones of Lois and Clark to protect them from the Kryptonians. It's complicated. If you'll come with me, it will be made crystal clear."
"I'm not going without Clark!" Lois asserted.
"If we leave now, I'll be able to bring you back here to this exact spot, one minute into the future. He won't even know you've been gone. Please. Come with me, I implore you. You must come alone."
"I need some proof that you are really who you say you are. Where's your time machine?"
"That archaic device of my great-great grandfather? My dear, we simply hold this device, similar to a cell phone, and we vibrate right out of this time and space continuum into mine." Henry pulled two small electronic devices out of his pants pocket and handed one to Lois so she could examine it.
"Ok, so what proof do you have that you're from Ma and Pa's world? If you know them, why don't we go to Smallville so they can vouch for you?"
"It's important that they don't know of the events back on their world at this time. If we are successful in our endeavor, all three worlds will be changed for the better. I simply ask that you give me your trust, just like you have given to my descendant of your sister world."
<I must be completely nuts. I'm meeting Lucy for dinner at 6:30pm. Clark will freak out if he can't get in touch with me.>
"I'll go, as long as you promise me that I'll be right back. I need to call Clark."
"Don't tell him where you're going. Leave him a generic message. Tell him you're getting your nails done or something."
Giving Henry a dirty look, Lois called Clark's cell phone, and getting his voice mail, said in her best perky voice, "Sweets, I'm going to spend the afternoon pampering myself to make myself feel better. Hair – nails – maybe even a massage. I'll call you later. Hope everything's OK at the Planet. Love you."
Henry and Lois walked over to an alleyway. "Press the green button,' he instructed her. "And all three worlds thank you for this in advance."
Lois looked down at the small device in her palm, and pressed the green button as instructed. Shortly, the world around her faded, to be replaced by a kaleidoscope of colors.
~~~~~
and now,
Chapter 29
The typical waves of nausea assaulted her as she opened her eyes slowly, almost afraid of what she'd see and where she'd be. Lois recognized the surroundings as a room in what resembled the STAR LABS of her world. Wells steadied her as she appeared a bit woozy as she got her bearings.
"Ok, Henry Geoffrey Wells, I came with you against my better judgment. So where the hell are we? I have a husband and a dinner party with my sister waiting for me back on my earth!" Lois ranted
"First off, call me Hank. There's someone I want you to meet. I'll be right back."
"Make it quick, mister."
Several minutes later, Hank walked in with none other than – H.G. Wells! Lois swallowed hard; there was something about that little man than sent her blood pressure soaring. But they did have a good time at the Hotel Del!
"Miss Lane – so good to see you again," Wells began. "I guess our little trip to San Diego didn't work out so well."
"Herb – what's this all about? And are you two supposed to know each other? This is weird," Lois exclaimed. "Not that being married to a Superman isn't, I guess," she rambled on, "and meeting my double in another world…."
Hank cut her off. "Lois, you have no idea what your little trip to visit my old friend Lex's counterpart in your world did."
"I assume you're talking about "our" Lex's brother Lenny. Well, so far I've found out that he probably raped me and that I have a daughter I didn't know about and that he's the reason I was trapped in the Congo for the last ten years.. is that what you mean?" Lois replied, dripping with sarcasm.
"That's only part of the problem," he replied. "You've heard of the Domino theory, I suppose."
Lois rolled her eyes in response.
"Do you understand why there are an infinite number of alternate universes?" he continued.
"Not really. I've only believed that they even exist in the last month or so," Lois replied.
H.G. Wells piped up to put his two cents in. "Ms. Lane, I'm afraid my "this-world" counterpart's great-great grandson has taken my body of work and taken it to the next level."
"Quit talking in riddles you two and just get to the point!"
"Quite right, Ms. Lane," Herb replied. "At one point in time, there was only one universe - the "Alpha Universe". Each time someone like me found a way to travel in the time stream, an alternate universe was created."
"Go on," said Lois.
"One of Hank's published papers theorized that if one could travel into the past, it would not be possible to return to the same present you came from. By leaving your current timeline, you create an anomaly in the time stream because you instantly exist in a world where technically, you haven't been born yet. That world automatically becomes an alternate universe to accommodate your existence there. When you return to the present, you have changed that world's course of events by existing in the past, even if it was for a short period of time. Anything you do in the past, any person's life you touch, even briefly, changes the future, your present."
Lois returned a perplexed look to the duo. "Cut to the chase. When we all traveled to San Diego and then Smallville, it was in the past. I was alive as a six-year old child, and I didn't live in that part of the country. How does all this geek-talk apply to that?" She was clearly frustrated.
Herb answered her question. "When we traveled to 1973, we created another alternate world – one that you and your twin Lois existed in, albeit briefly, as I said. You couldn't exist simultaneously as a thirty-something women as well as a six year old girl."
"Go on," Lois urged.
"As soon as we departed, your six-year old self and the rest of that world was instantaneously propelled into yet another alternate universe, and thus the "original" you has had different life experiences and memories than you personally remember. Our trip into the past caused Lenny Thorul to become fixated on you in your "Mary Kent" persona, and therefore he went from being a good, decent kid to an obsessed adult who couldn't fall in love with anyone else but you. The rape, your subsequent daughter, named Lena, and your time in the Congo, was caused by this one event.
"We believe that my world, which is the same world that your friends CK and Lois are from, is the Alpha-Universe, the *original* world. *Your* world, Lois, was created by my time travel trip with *that* Clark and Lois into the past."
Hank interjected, "Yes, Lois – Herb told me that he took Lois and CK to Smallville in the past, and helped the Kents find his rocket ship – actually saving his life. Of course, the exact moment that infant Kal-El landed in the field in Kansas, the anomaly – two Clarks existing at the same time – created "your* world! And when you, Herb, and the other Lois traveled into the past in your world, you inadvertently caused *this* world to be born! Thus, the Lenny Thorul of your world became the Lex Luthor of *this* world. After all, Lenny was meant to be a Luthor all along."
Lois found a chair in the lab and sat down. "Omigod! My head is really spinning. How can all of this be related? It's like saying the chicken came before the egg."
"Trust me, Lois, they are."
"Yes, even though your story is completely far-fetched, I remember when Ma Kent showed me a picture of the Lex of this world - he was an exact duplicate of Lenny Thorul. I guess it all makes sense, in a bizarre way. No wonder! Are you saying that the Kents, that are now in *my* world…"
"Are from the world that *you* accidentally created when we traveled into the past!"
Herb exclaimed
"Ok, but the two Clarks traveled to that world - *this* world – and nothing happened – right?"
"Quite right, Ms. Lane. There was no displacement only because the Clark and Lois of this world didn't exist here anymore," Hank replied.
"Waitaminute, Hank. Back in my world, you told me that your Lex created clones of Clark and Lois, and that they were still alive – that they never died."
"Yes, they lived, but were moved to another plane of existence."
"Huh? You mean that Ma and Pa think their son is dead and he's actually alive somewhere?"
Herb answered that one. "Yes, Ms. Lane. Here's where *my* meddling came into play. The New Kryptonians killed clones of Clark and Lois - clones that Lex Luthor had created at Cadmus Lab. The Kents never knew. I came and whisked them away before Lex could tell them that they were actually alive and safe."
"So what did the two Clarks see when they went to this world? Clark is so close-mouthed about it; he would only talk about the Kryptonite antidote the New Kryptonians were working on."
"What upset both of them was that Lex Luthor is now President of the United States in this world."
Lois' mouth dropped yet another notch towards the floor. "What? Really?"
Hank looked at Lois very seriously. "Ms. Lane, they didn't know that in *this* world, he's a good guy. Always has been. They just figured that because the New Kryptonians had killed Clark and Lois, Lex was able to ply his evil nonstop and take over the United States. Truth be told, it was Lex who helped conquer the New Kryptonians. He became a hero.
"The day that the two Clarks visited, Lex was making a campaign stop in Smallville on his bid to be re-elected for President. They listened to his speech and were completely revolted. The Kent farmhouse was in ruins. They just assumed the entire world had really gone downhill. Ma and Pa never told Clark that the Lex of their world was a good guy, you know. They knew how much he hated the Lex Luthor of his world."
"Wow. That's right. Ma told me they never talked about things on their world much with Clark. He didn't want to hear about how happy *their* Clark had been with *his* Lois.
"Omigod. The goodness I saw in the face of Lenny Thorul…wow – he actually became President of the United States. On the path he was on, before I meddled in his life, that makes perfect sense. Yikes!"
"And Ms. Lane, *I* didn't know it either. If I had stayed and not just dropped the two Clarks off and left, I might have met my twin's great-grandson Hank here sooner, who would have explained it all to me," Herb said. "I'm the guiltiest party in this entire mess. I finally decided to come back to this universe and see for myself what was going on. That's when I finally met Hank. We started sharing stories and realized what a mess had been created."
"So where are Clark and Lois? I take it that she had the baby, then?? Ma and Pa are actually grandparents?" Lois babbled excitedly.
"Yes they are. And herein lies our problem, Ms. Lane," Hank said ominously. "*Our* Lois and Clark and their son are trapped in a phantom zone. Lex created it to save them from the New Kryptonians. I now run Lex's Research division, while he is President of the United States, and have access to all of Lex Corp's technology. If I release Lois, Clark and Clark Jr. into this world, it will be hurled into yet another alternate universe, because their son technically shouldn't exist here. He was actually born in this other dimensional world – more of a spirit world than a physical one. The only way they can return to the physical world is without their son. As you can imagine, Lois won't go for that."
Lois thought she was going insane, because all of this geek-talk was starting to make sense to her. "And you don't want to create any more alternate universes, I take it?"
"The space-time continuum is very fragile, Ms. Lane. Our research has led us to believe that if another alternate universe is created, the world as we know it will cease to exist. The explanation is very complex and scientifically based; suffice to say it's not worth taking the risk."
"So what's the solution?"
"Well, if you and the other Lois never traveled to San Diego, this world would never have been created, and Lenny would have never become fixated on you."
"Right. And then he wouldn't have raped me, Lena would never have been born, I would have never gone to the Congo, and … *this* world would never have been created either! How does *that* solve the problem?"
"The theory is that the Lois in the phantom zone is actually *you* and if you never go to San Diego and meet Lenny, the two worlds will re-merge and things will take their natural course. You might know that the Lois of *this* world lost her parents when she was ten, and the Clark of *your* world lost his when he was ten as well. Didn't you think that was a bit strange?" Hank asked.
"Yes, I did," Lois admitted.
"Well, we theorize that you and Clark will not lose your parents if the two worlds are allowed to re-merge. There is at least one set of parents in each world, after all. We're not sure how many Lex Luthors they'll be, but at least two out of the three are good guys at heart. Hopefully, the odds are good he won't turn to crime."
"So how do we stop the San Diego trip from happening?"
"We have to enlist the help of someone who didn't exist at that time, nor was from that universe. Someone that would be enlightened enough to believe our story enough to help us."
"Tall order, boys. And who might *that* be?"
"The H.G. Wells of *this* world, of course! My *real* great-great grandfather!" Hank said excitedly. "And since I can't go, and sending Herb here, his twin, would freak him out, we're going to send *you*!"
TBC
